


Remnant

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Post-Operation Pitfall (Pacific Rim), Reunions, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 06:59:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12525664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: He put the old, cracked ones away; forgotten in the drawer of his desk.They were only a reminder anyway.





	Remnant

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently, based from what was seen in the Uprising trailer, Newt no longer is wearing glasses :( So, I came up with a headcanon that, what if, Newt actually just stored the glasses away. I elaborated on that in [ this post](http://brittleskyblue.tumblr.com/post/166159115557/yes-but-what-if-newt-actually-still-has-his), and the decided to write this fic.
> 
> At the time I'm posting this, I realize it's months before Uprising, so likely none of this is accurate. Enjoy it anyway.

Newt made a note to switch out his glasses, his current ones ruined with a cracked lens. He had cleaned them, but there was nothing to be done about the lens. Good thing he had the foresight, for once, to have a spare. The stupid things were expensive enough as it was, and at the time, he had bigger things to worry about.

He didn’t need to worry so much now that the world wasn’t ending, but the spare pair would do until he could order new ones.

So he put the old, cracked ones away; forgotten in the drawer of his desk.

They were only a reminder anyway.

 

* * *

 

After the grand victory that resonated round the world, the PPDC apparently had a place again. Newt stayed on, as did Hermann, though without more Kaiju samples to poke around in, Newt wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Hermann could easily continue his work, but it felt odd to Newt.

He’d spent the last twleve years of his life researching the Kaiju, and now it was just… over. He had to find something new.

At least, however, he had Hermann; the man he had Drifted with. The physicist he shared a connection with, and the one Newt loved.

At least he still had that.

 

* * *

 

Newt was digging around in his desk when he came across the old pair of glasses, the one with the cracked lens.

He stared at them for a moment, then took them out and ran his finger over the lens that was cracked. The memories came back as he did so; the panic, the roof of the shelter caving in, Otachi nearly swallowing him up.

He knew the Kaiju were still in his head; a faint ghost swimming around in his subconscious.

Newt flinched and broke himself off from the memory, shoving the glasses back in the drawer and slamming it shut. It caught Hermann’s attention and the physicist asked him if he was alright. Newt assured him that he was okay, but it was a lie.

Nightmares and the occasional nosebleed were bad enough; he didn’t need any more reminders of his near death experience.

 

* * *

 

Two years passed since the Breach closed. K-Science was currently experiencing a rise in interest, which kept the two scientists busy. They kept working side by side, like they always were. That was the way Newt preferred it, and he was pretty sure Hermann liked it that way too.

Then Newt was offered a job in the private sector.

He stared at the email for a while, unbelieving what he was reading. This… This was his dream; what he had been working so hard for. It was finally the recognition he deserved.

Finally, he broke out in a grin and dragged Hermann over to see.

“Isn’t this amazing?!” He exclaimed. “I’ve always dreamed of this- I’m gonna be a rockstar! This calls for some celebratory drinks. I know you’ve got some something stashed away-”

But his excitement fell, noticing Hermann looked downcast as he read the email.

After a moment, he said, “Are you really thinking about accepting this?”

Newt blinked at him. “Yeah. I mean, this- It’s so cool, and it’s my dream- I’m never gonna get another opportunity like this.”

He thought Hermann would be happy for him, but instead he looked… almost crushed.

Newt foolishly pressed forward, and a fight ensured.

Newt stormed out of the lab and never looked back.

Newt took the job in the private sector and left the PPDC.

He left Hermann.

 

* * *

 

He stopped wearing glasses after that. He never ordered new ones.

After taking the job, Newt made an appointment to look into contacts. He switched over to those shortly after and hid the glasses away. He didn’t need them now. He didn’t need them here. He was a rockstar now, and he didn’t need his glasses when the contacts were working just fine.

The glasses were only a reminder anyway, a remnant.

They were a reminder that triggered the memories of that night in Hong Kong. They were a reminder of his two Drifts with a Kaiju. They were a reminder of the ghosts in his mind that sometimes haunted his dreams, even now.

However, They weren’t just a reminder of the Kaiju.

The glasses reminded him of Hermann.

Even though he was content in this new line of work, something felt wrong, like there was something missing. Newt didn’t have to dwell on that too long whenever that thought arose, because he already knew the answer.

Hermann didn’t work with him; he’d stayed with the PPDC when Newt accepted the job with the private sector. They’d had a fight before they left, and Newt hadn’t spoken a word to Hermann since. No calls, no emails, not even a letter like from back when they first corresponded. The days turned into weeks and turned into months, and Newt always knew that’s what was missing.

It was a sort of hollow feeling, and as time passed the more Newt started to regret that fight and the fact that he had left Hermann behind. Those old glasses served to remind him that he had made a terrible mistake, perhaps the worst.

He was happy here, but was he really happy?

Newt still loved Hermann; no one else could take his place. But Hermann had probably forgotten him by now, and Newt had thrown that happiness away.

That was the other reason he didn’t want to see or wear those glasses anymore. He didn’t want to be reminded of the Kaiju or Hermann, even though he knew it was pointless to try and erase them both from his mind.

 

* * *

 

Years passed; a decade since the closing of the Breach.

He still worked apart from Hermann, though Newt quietly followed his publications and research. Newt continued on with his own work within the private sector as well.

Then something terrifying, unthinkable, and perhaps inevitable happened.

Newt was in his lab, showing a couple interns something of tissue replication, when his nose started to bleed. He didn’t notice until one of the interns pointed it out. Then there was a sudden sharp pain in his head, bad enough to cause him to faint.

It felt so familiar, and he knew what it was as he came to.

_‘Please don’t let it be true.’_ He thought, hoping for once he was wrong.

The interns asked him if he was okay, but his mind was elsewhere.

“Something…. Something’s wrong. Ch-check the news…. Please.”

Newt hoped he was wrong, but he wasn’t.

The Kaiju were back, and he just stared in horror.

_‘Did you feel that too, Hermann?’_

 

* * *

 

A new force was assembled, a new team to combat the threat. The Kaiju were back, and Newt knew it wasn’t going to be easy this time.

It sort of felt like stepping back in time, stepping back into his old position. He was- is- the leading expert on Kaiju. It was nostalgic and familiar. It was home.

Hermann was still missing though, but with the Kaiju back, Newt had a job to do. He could only hope that Hermann was back on the case too and that he would be safe. They may have not spoken in years, but Newt would be devastated should something happen to his friend (yes, still his friend), his Drift partner, the one who Drifted with him and accepted him.

So, he threw himself into his work once more.

_‘Stay safe, Hermann. I- no. We’ll figure this out, even if we aren’t together. I’ll do it for you, even if you hate me.’_

 

* * *

 

It would seem unavoidable that he would be drawn back to the PPDC, or more accurately that he and Hermann would cross paths again.

That happened in the way of Hermann finding Newt.

So, here they stood in his lab, face to face once more. Newt had known this was coming, and prepped himself for when he saw Hermann again, but now that the moment had arrived, he didn’t know what to say.

Actually, he did, but not how to express it, let alone where to begin.

“Hey.” Was all he could manage, but when silence continued, Newt spoke again. “How many years has it been?”

“Since you left? About eight.” Hermann replied, sounding a bit distant.

“Oh…. You haven’t changed much.”

“And I always thought you looked better with glasses.”

Newt tried a grin, but it didn’t stay. He didn’t know why Hermann had come looking for him, but he just assumed it was because the Kaiju were back and the PPDC needed his help. That was the obvious answer.

“So,” Newt tried. “I guess you know the Kaiju...” He trailed off.

“I know; I felt it when they resurfaced.”

“I did too. They’re… They’re evolving, Herms.”

He thought Hermnn would snap back a remark for using the old nickname, but he only nodded grimly.

“They are. And I know no one else on this Earth is capable of finding their secrets than you.”

Newt scoffed. He knew it.

“You were sent to fetch me then? Is that it?”

Hermann sighed. “You fool, that’s not just it. Against my better judgment, I chose to come find you; ask you to come back. No one else made me; it was my decision. And...” He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I wanted to see you.”

Newt didn’t know what to say. “I… I didn’t think you’d want to. Thought you’d still be mad at me...for, you know, leaving...”

“I still am. I didn’t want you to go.” Then he asked. “Do you remember the Drift?”

“How could I forget?”

Hermann raised his free hand and tapped the side of his head. “I could feel you there, and when you left it felt like something was missing, and it took me the longest time to realize it was you. I still feel you there now, even after all these years.”

Newt nodded in agreement. Though a decade had passed since the Drift, there was a corner of his mind that was solely for Hermann. It became a faint feeling after being apart for so long, but now that they were in the same room again, it was stronger, like something waking up. The Drift was still strong between them, even after a decade.

“The Kaiju-” Newt tried. “Do you-”

“Yes. I’ve seen them in my dreams, and now they’re back. I hoped this day wouldn’t come but now they’ve returned. It’s faint, but I can feel them; the Hive. It’s been that way since their return.”

“Same here. They’re in our heads. Maybe they were just hibernating all this time.”

“Maybe, but the point is, we’ve seen into their world, we are the only two people on Earth who have Drifted with a Kaiju. I’ve been working with the PPDC to combat them since the return, but,” Hermann took a step forward toward Newt. “my efforts aren’t enough.”

He tilted his head. “Hermann, you’re brilliant; you always have been. You’re the smartest guy I know. I’m sure you-”

“Newton, it’s not enough, and there is only one other I know who can help- you.” He stopped in front of Newt, and he could see the solemn look in Hermann’s eyes. “We need you… I need you. I can’t do this alone; we can’t do this apart.”

It was the first time they had spoken to each other in years, and it should figure it took the Kaiju to bring them back into each other’s orbit. However, to hear Hermann came for him, that he needed Newt’s help- it touched his heart.

And Hermann was right; they worked better together, not apart. Newt was doing everything he could to find out what the Kaiju were up to this time, but he would rather work alongside Hermann.

And if the world really was going to end this time, he’d rather be with Hermann; fight with him to the end.

A ghost of a smile tugged at Newt’s lips. “We always worked better together, haven’t we?”

Hermann regarded him for a moment, and the reached forward to take his hand. “It’s always been that way. That’s just how we are.”

Newt looked down, not meeting Hermann’s eyes, but looking at their intertwined hands. “I love you, you know. I’m sorry; I know I left you behind. I shouldn’t have.”

“I love you too, Newt.” Hermann replied quietly. “I have then, before you left, and I still do now. We can talk about that later; right now there’s work to be done.”

Newt nodded, everything feeling right in this moment. He felt whole again with Hermann back at his side.

Well, almost.

He removed his hand from Hermann’s and went over to his desk. He pulled out the top drawer and took out a navy blue case, setting it on the desk. He carefully took out his contacts and put them back in their respective case before returning to the one on the desk. Picking up the other one, he opened it and stared at what was in them.

His old glasses were exactly as he had left them, though a little dusty. Newt took the glasses out of the case and cleaned the dust from them with his tie. When he felt like they were clean enough, he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up a little.

Then he closed his eyes and put the glasses back on.

When he opened his eyes, he turned to Hermann and gave him the biggest grin possible.

They could do this… together.

“Let’s do this.”


End file.
